Star Trek Picard Episode 3 Review – “The End is the Beginning”

Star Trek: Picard is back with a brand new episode. After two episodes building up to Jean-Luc’s new adventure, Episode 3 finally feels like we’re getting started. The characters of Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) and Chris Rios (Santiago Cabrera) are introduced in this episode.

SPOILER WARNING

I have to say, this episode is another positive one for me. I’m loving the return of Jonathan Del Arco’s character of “Hugh”. It’s been a long time since we saw him on our screens, and he’s changed a lot. Hugh’s position as Executive Director means he holds power, but I do get the impression it might be short-lived.

The first word that comes to my mind when thinking about Star Trek: Picard is “mystery”. Currently, the whole plot and subplots are surrounded in mystery. Whether it be with Hugh, Soji, Starfleet or Picard himself. This isn’t a complaint or a negative thing, more or less that I love the direction of the series so far.

Flashbacks

The opening flashback scene of Star Trek: Picard Episode 3 stands out. Not only do we get a quickfire Attack on mars, but also a look at Admiral Picard. I’ve personally been hoping we’ll see Picard commanding his new starship, the USS Verity. The Odyssey-class was seen in IDW’s Star Trek: Picard Countdown Comic, to which this flashback is very close to in terms of the date, 2385.

As many have said, the Starfleet Uniforms of 2385 do look very nice. I would say they are better than those of the 2399 Starfleet officers, but that’s just personal taste. Either way, seeing Sir Patrick Stewart in uniform again is fantastic, he suits Admiral! Raffi Musiker in her uniform as well really paints a different picture of her life, as it should.

As expected, we do learn more about Admiral Picard’s resignation from Starfleet. They called his bluff, and he resigned and ended his career in Starfleet there and then. More information is given, with the fact that Raffi and Jean-Luc put together another plan to use anything they could to evacuate lives from the effect of the Supernova. Though as it’s been alluded to, Starfleet simply could not commit to another rescue armada due to being afraid and pressure from Federation Members.

New Faces

The introduction of Michelle Hurd’s character of Raffi is handled very well I think. We’re introduced to a person who has lost everything that mattered to her and has fallen off the path slightly. While some may comment on her substance abuse as it shouldn’t be apart of Star Trek, I would argue against this. When life does not go to plan, many people may or may not turn to substances or some form of coping mechanism.

Santiago Cabrera’s character of Chris Rios is introduced and oh man, is he an interesting one. I’m finding a lot of Picard’s new crew have inner demons they’re trying to fight, especially with Chris and Raffi. It’s revealed that Starfleet has somewhat burned Rios, who is an ex-First Officer. Another mystery teased is that Starfleet erased his former starship from history and records, why this was done I have no idea currently.

Rios is joined by two Emergency Holograms, very reminiscent of The Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager. This time the Hologram takes the image of Rios and just applies an accent, Irish or British apparently. This does answer the question of whether Holograms were apart of the Synthetic lifeform ban. Then again, Rios isn’t happy with Starfleet anymore, so I’m thinking he does not follow their rules aboard his private starship.

The Starship

Along with Rios, we’re introduced to Picard’s new ship, the La Sirena. Little is know about this starship just yet, apart from it’s privately owned and is kept in pristine condition. From the look of it, I would say it’s designed to transport cargo, as the transporter pads remind me of DS9’s cargo pads.

The teaser reel for Episode 4 reveals that we’ll soon see La Sirena in action. While i love that we have a new ship, I still yawn to see the Enterprise or another modern Starfleet starship sometime soon. The Starfleet rescue tugs were something, but give me an Odyssey Class, please!

Borg Problems

I’m finding the Borg story of Star Trek: Picard very cool. We’re getting a look at Hugh and how he plays into the story so far. The ex-Borg members seem to also be surrounded in mystery, much like everything in the series so far.

Ramdha is introduced to us as a new character, an ex-Borg who happens to be a Romulan. It seems like the Romulans are holding former Romulan Borg Drones in a special pen. I’m not sure if they’re doing anything separate from the other ex-drone species, but it would not surprise me.

I’m intrigued to find out more about what’s going on here. Specifically the relationship between Hugh, The ex-Borg and also the Romulans. All of these people and factions have a role to play and time will only tell us how it all plays out.

The Music

Once again, I find myself at awe over the beautiful composure of Star Trek: Picard’s musical score. Jeff Ruso has done a fantastic job of capturing the magic of Jean-Luc in a modern sense but also honoring his past legacy. I love the final scene of this episode, so many TNG memories flowing through my head as the La Sirena goes to warp.

Chapter One of the soundtrack for Star Trek: Picard releases on February 7th. I highly recommend picking this one up if you like the musical score of the series so far. There are many tracks or musical cues I just want to listen to by themselves.

Conclusion

To conclude, I really liked this episode. It now feels like we’re finally starting Jean-Luc Picard’s real adventure. That is not to say that the first two episodes were bad or not needed, because they totally were. It’s very important for me to have an established plot and background to work with, especially for new viewers.

Director and Executive Editor of Trek Central.
A lifelong Sci-Fi fan, Jack has been successfully running a Sci-Fi YouTube channel under the name “Captain Jack” since 2010. He’s also the voice you will hear on the Trek Central YouTube channel.